Chapter 8: Power Play
After the Battle Trial fiasco, the girls didn't really know how to feel at first. Dazed was a good word to describe their feelings, especially when they walked back into the monitor room and joined the rest of their class. But, as the class went through the battle critique, the girls found that "dazed" wasn't an accurate word to describe their current feelings.
No, a better word would be stupefied.
At first, the girls had no idea what they did to fail, even with Blossom having a notion of their mistakes. But as they watched students raising their hands and as they listened to their provided commentary, there was a theme among all of the constructive criticism.
And that was the fact that the girls had "killed" the Villains in their rage.
To be fair, the girls, at least in their opinion, shouldn't have been to blame for the robots' demise. How were they supposed to know that a punch that was only meant to disable would end up being much more destructive? Sure, the potency of the punch was the ultimate error that cost them the win. That was a result of their powers though, not them.
The girls never intended to hurt the robots. … well, maybe a little. But not kill. CERTAINLY not kill. They're not savages.
But of course, it wasn't depicted that way when it came time for the battle critique. The good news was that the class's reaction to their power was much more positive than the class's reaction to their "irrational" thinking. The girls couldn't go one second throughout the rest of the Battle Trial exercise without getting a compliment from a classmate.
The bad (or maybe good) news was that every match that came after that went smoothly. While that was a good thing, due to nobody getting hurt and buildings not getting knocked down like toothpicks, it made things a little boring. Not a lot, but a little.
But before the girls knew it, class was over and therefore, the school day was finished. Everyone had to change out of their Hero Costumes (to Bubbles's dismay, as she was planning to wear it forever), and head back to the classroom to grab their things.
As Blossom stopped by her desk and gathered her stuff, she did it absentmindedly. That was because she was thinking about the girls' failure at the Battle Trial. What if she and her sisters had done things differently? What if, instead of taking on the robot, Blossom and Buttercup simply ditched them to go and get the payload with Bubbles? If they were determined enough, the three girls could've easily outrun the robots, flown to the payload, and secured it with a simple touch. They could've easily just thrown the robots out the window, buying them time to get to the payload. Honestly, there were a lot of smarter strategies the girls could have gone with instead to win.
Buttercup was thinking about the Battle Trial too. Only, she was more bothered about their loss rather than the topic of strategy.
"We should have won! I don't CARE what All Might says!" Buttercup growled as she threw her books into her backpack angrily, "I mean, it's not like he TOLD us that destroying the robots would get us disqualified! Plus, I don't want to hear any of that 'fighting a robot = fighting a classmate' nonsense. I'm telling you, if we didn't beat up those killer machines, THEY'D be the ones killing us! I bet if we had fought real people instead, they wouldn't have tried to strangle the life out of us!"
Instead of disagreeing with Buttercup, Bubbles surprisingly nodded.
"Exactly! My robot opponent punched me in the NOSE. HARD! Like, that REALLY hurts! Still hurts now…"
Blossom came over to the two, her backpack slung over her shoulder, frowning at them.
"Guys. We've literally dealt with opponents like this back in Townsville. Mojo Jojo, Him, Princess. All those guys. They've given us plenty of bruises and injuries."
"Yeah, so? What's your point?" Buttercup scoffed.
"My POINT is that while they do hurt us, we end up easily stopping them. We rarely lose our temper in fights. But look at us now. The robots we fought today are more or less like our Villains. But, guess what? We end up destroying a building all because we punched them in the face a little too hard. Wanna know why that is?"
Bubbles clutched onto her stuffie and lowered her head, ashamed. "Because we… lost our temper?"
"Exactly. That's the real reason we lost. We went overboard." Blossom sighed.
Buttercup still looked angry, as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, according to the hotshots here, every single thing we do is doing too much. So, the real reason we lost isn't because we went overboard, but because ALL MIGHT thought we went overboard. Because apparently we're too much for anybody to handle."
Blossom shook her head slightly. "While I can't deny that sometimes our actions are justified, you do realize that the 'hotshots' have a point. All these years of crime fighting has gotten to our heads. We're obviously more mature than when we were 5, but that still doesn't stop us from making mistakes, like going off the rails. As much as you… well, as much as WE try to deny it, we need to learn a thing or two when it comes to fighting crime, like keeping our tempers in check. Do you agree with me?"
Bubbles and Buttercup hesitated for a few seconds. Finally, they slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I guess…" Buttercup groaned, "Still think that the decision's bullshit though."
It was around that time that the girls had realized that they were the only ones left in the classroom. Everyone else had left already.
"Okay. It's about time we get home. Bubbles, you wanted to make katsudon for dinner, right?"
Bubbles immediately brightened and she nodded (she was the unofficial chef for mealtimes at the new Powerpuff Household).
"Yeah! Got the recipe and everything! Trust me, it's gonna be the best thing you've ever tasted!"
As the girls walked out of the classroom and down the hallway to the exit, a sudden voice shouted behind them, making them jump.
"HOLD ON, GIRLS!"
The three whirled around to see All Might rushing towards them, as they all sighed in both relief and annoyance.
"He's about to give me a damn heart attack with his shouts, I swear." Buttercup muttered under her breath.
As All Might reached them, he stopped with a sheepish chuckle.
"Sorry to startle you. But, I was hoping to catch you before you go. I'd like to have a little chat with you before you head home."
None of the girls were expecting this. A talk with All Might? Alone? That could only mean one thing. Does he… know their secret?!
All Might noticed their scared expressions, and smiled.
"Oh uh, you're not in trouble or anything, in case you were wondering. I just want to address a few things. Is that okay?"
The word that they really wanted to answer with was simple. "NO!". But then again, you can't exactly say no to an authority figure who wants to talk to you, unless you want them to become even more suspicious than they already are. So, even though the girls wanted nothing more than the chance to bolt out of the school doors, they said the answer that All Might wanted to hear.
"That's okay."
Before they knew it, the girls were in the classroom once more. Being at school after hours felt strange. There was no lively chatter from students, or the constant sounds of shoes tapping against the smooth floor as people walked to classes. Instead, the only sounds present were a few awkward coughs and the sound of the girls rustling in their seats, trying to get comfortable.
But, the awkward silence didn't last long, as All Might finally said something.
"I've been meaning to pull you girls aside for a while. Ever since school started, actually. I feel like we've never really gotten the chance to talk to one another. Even when I saved you from the Sludge Villain way back when. This is the talk that I want to have with you."
The three nodded, but looked slightly confused.
"What exactly do you want to talk to us about, though?" Blossom asked.
"A number of things. The main one is about your current circumstances. What I mean by that is that you girls are by far the most unique students UA has had. Not just in Class 1-A but in the whole school. The average first-year UA student is 15 years old. But, you girls are 12. That's a big accomplishment, being so young and yet so powerful that you can keep up with your older classmates."
The girls blinked. They hadn't been expecting this talk to start off with All Might complimenting them.
"Thank you sir." Bubbles said, speaking for both of her sisters.
"Not a problem. I do commend you for being much more skilled than most kids in your age group. But, I am also a bit cautious. It is a good thing that you are studying to be Heroes early on. But, you are still kids. Yes, you have a powerful Quirk and amazing abilities. But, that doesn't mean you're immune to making irrational decisions. You have a long way to go when it comes to strategizing in Hero Battles, and I wish to help you with that. Understand?"
They couldn't believe it. Instead of interrogating them, All Might wanted to talk to the girls because he wants to look out for them? When it's put like that, the girls felt a little guilty for assuming that All Might simply wanted to press some answers out of them to explain why their "Quirks" were so strong or why they were so unfamiliar to society's Hero Restrictions.
But, All Might wasn't done with his talk.
"Speaking of your Quirk, I just wanted to mention something about them. You see, UA keeps files on student Quirks, for every student in the whole school. According to your files, your Quirks are so far labeled TBD."
"TBD?" Bubbles asked.
"To be determined." Blossom explained, her voice a little jittery from nerves.
All Might nodded. "Yes, that's right. UA hasn't been able to quite place what your Quirks are or what you can do with them. You yourself don't know that much about your Quirks either, I'm assuming?"
The girls hesitated. Then, Blossom replied, "No."
That, believe it or not, wasn't a lie. It was the whole truth. Sure, the girls knew that their super abilities weren't Quirks, and they also knew how to control them enough to fight enemies. But, they didn't know what exactly their powers were. All they knew about their powers was that they had appeared when they were 5. And thanks to the Professor and his extensive research, the girls also knew that their powers were the result of a mutated component in their DNA, a mystical property that was named "Chemical X".
As far as the girls knew, their powers were simply a very strange freak of nature. But, they often wondered how they became the "lucky ones" that ended up with that freaky ability in the first place. Perhaps this is one of those mysteries the girls just needed to admit was unsolved.
All Might nodded. "I figured. Which is why you're not only going to be learning about being a Hero. You're going to be learning more and more about your Quirks. I promise you, by the end of the school year, I'll make sure that we know just what exactly your Quirks are."
When they heard this, the girls froze. All Might had just promised to basically discover and unveil the girls' big secret. While he did not say that outright and while it seems like finding out the girls' secret isn't his intention, trying to find out what their "Quirks" are could lead him to that discovery. Either way, when it comes down to it, he was eventually going to find out that they were not from this world.
Before the girls could dwell on it, All Might clapped his hands together.
"Okay. That's all I want to say. You girls can go home now. I'll see you tomorrow."
And with that, All Might got up and left the classroom, leaving the girls sitting there with shock and a lot of racing thoughts.
"Do… you think he knows?" Bubbles finally squeaked.
Buttercup shook her head slightly while frowning. "Nah. He doesn't think we're girls from another dimension. He just thinks we're girls with freakish Quirks."
Bubbles sighed. "You know, I'm a little sick of keeping up the ruse we're from here. Can't we just tell All Might the truth?"
Blossom sighed. She was thinking the exact same thing. Would it really be that bad if they told All Might who they were and where they came from? He was the Number One Hero. Out of all the people in this reality, All Might seems like the person you'd least expect to exploit the girls and their true power once he figures out who they are.
And yet… Blossom couldn't shake that warning Aizawa gave the girls just before their UA entrance exam.
"There are bad people here, people that will want to know more about how and why you came here, along with what exactly you are. And they will do bad things to get that information. You can only tell the truth to people you can trust."
So far, the girls have found nobody they could trust. Frankly, the only people the girls trusted were Nezu and Aizawa. And even then, they didn't trust the two completely. Sure, they had new friends in their class, and they might be people who could be trusted. But, the girls have only known them for 2 days. They needed more time to think on that matter.
So, as nice and caring All Might seemed, the girls couldn't trust him with their secret. Not yet.
And so, Blossom told her sisters that. When she did, Bubbles and Buttercup agreed with her.
"I guess it's settled then. We're not telling anybody anything until the time is right." Buttercup said.
"Exactly," Blossom replied with a nod.
For a few seconds, the girls sat there until Bubbles suddenly broke the silence with a yawn, prompting Blossom to stand up.
"Alright. We've been here long enough. Unless we're planning to sleep over here for the night, we gotta go and catch the train ride home."
Buttercup groaned. "Aw man. Can't we just fly THIS once? Please, Blossom. I am tired of being squished next to people in a stuffy train!"
"Yeah. me too." Bubbles agreed, "Plus, I ran out of lokai bracelets to pass out to people…"
Blossom looked out the window at the sky. The sun was already setting.
"Well… since it's getting dark and the train takes too long, we might as well. But when we fly, we stick together and don't take detours!"
Blossom's last sentence more or less fell on deaf ears, as Bubbles and Buttercup shouted, "YAY!"
In a flash, the two flew out of the door in a blue and green blur. Quickly, Blossom blasted after them, her own pink trail being left behind her. Soon, the girls were bouncing through the hallways, out the door, and up into the air. As UA became a tiny building on the ground, the girls blasted away, looking like 3 colorful shooting stars to the people down below.
Little did they know, someone was watching their colored trails illuminating the sky, hiding in the shadows as they watched.
"Think you can just forget me huh? Well, my little girls, you won't forget me for long…"
The next few days at school passed by like a blur. The girls seemed to be finally adjusting to their new lives, achieving a balance between their two lives. One was obviously Hero Training, as they put on their costumes time and time again to compete in exercises meant to help hone their talents.
The other was their social life. In their class, the girls were starting to establish their friendship circles. They began to sit with other people at lunch, talk with them between and before classes, and even walk to the train station with them at the end of each school day. The girls were becoming more popular in Class 1-A day after day, and they now knew everyone's names.
The girls did often find themselves in humorous situations. One example of that is when Blossom ran for the spot of class representative. Despite her confidence that her newfound popularity was going to secure the spot for her, she ended up losing, to Blossom's dread and to Buttercup's amusement (the latter wouldn't stop bringing up the story for weeks to come, often recounting it with a lot of laughter and cackling). While she was salty about it for the next few days, Blossom did come to respect the decision. Especially when the former president, Izuku, stepped down and put Iida as a class president, when Iida had calmed down half of the school in the time where persistent news reporters were mistaken for villains intruding UA.
Speaking of the media, the girls had their fair share of encounters with them, the majority of them not at all pleasant. Apparently, All Might was right. The girls being the youngest students at UA, the youngest students in UA history, was a big deal. So big that literally every Japanese news channel mentioned them at least once.
The public's opinion of the girls varied. Most resented the idea of them going to UA, saying that "little girls belong in middle schools, not the #1 Hero Academy in Japan". Some worried for the girls' safety, as UA was a dangerous place that was not for the faint of heart. And, only a few had no problems with the girls being at UA, wishing to see them grow into young Heroes.
Regardless of whatever the public thought of them, it was clear that the Powerpuff Girls were very well known, even in a reality not of their own. Which resulted in others focusing their interest on them, not just the good but the bad people too.
However, the girls themselves did not know this. Not until their first school field trip to USJ.
—-
"LET'S DO THIS, BITCHES!" Buttercup whooped, doing a fist pump.
The three girls were currently on the school bus with the rest of Class 1-A, on their way to the training facility known as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, USJ for short.
Bubbles, who was sitting next to Buttercup, bounced up and down in her chair, her pigtails swishing with the movement.
"I'm so excited! It's our first field trip!" she squealed.
Blossom, who sat on the other side of Buttercup, leaned over to look at Bubbles.
"It's not necessarily a field trip. It's more like an off-campus class. This isn't your typical 'museum sightseeing' type of thing, it is an educational learning experience about rescue and-"
"Oh my god." Buttercup groaned, "Could you at least WAIT a few minutes before killing the mood?"
In another seat, Iida overheard the conversation and spoke up.
"Momoko is correct! This is not your average field trip! We can all come from this learning experience with a valuable lesson!" he said for the whole class to hear.
"I already learned a lesson. Don't take educational buzzkills on field trips." Buttercup mumbled under her breath.
Meanwhile, the other students on the bus were talking about Quirks.
"You know, Midoriya." Tsuyu, the frog girl, pointed out, "your Quirk is kinda similar to All Might's. Ribbit."
After hearing this, Izuku's face immediately went red, getting completely flustered in a matter of seconds.
"UH- Well, um… I guess so, haha! It's probably a coincidence though, right?" Izuku stammered nervously, trying to look like he was nonchalant about the suggestion.
"Yeah, it could be. But, still. You and All Might really are similar in terms of Quirks." Tsuyu replied.
Next to her, Kirishima shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean, All Might doesn't break his bones when using his Quirk. I have to admit though, it's a really cool Quirk! I wish I had a Quirk as flashy as that!"
"What are you talking about, Kirishima?" Bubbles piped up, "Your Quirk's super cool!"
"Yeah!" Izuku agreed, "Your Quirk is also quite useful, a great asset for a Hero!"
Kirishima smiled at the compliments. "Thanks, but I'd still love to have a flashy Quirk! Take Bakugou for an example! He can create explosions. That would be a great power for a Hero to have."
"Eh. Bakugou's too angry to be a Hero." Tsuyu said bluntly.
As the conversation went on, Bakugou was just sitting in his chair and staring out of the window. But once Tsuyu said that, his eyes snapped towards her, flaring up.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" he shouted.
In his seat, Denki shrugged. "She means that your personality needs some work. A LOT of work."
"Yeah. You can't save people and be popular, if all you do is shout at people. Ribbit." Tsuyu noted.
"WHY YOU-! SHUT IT, FROGFACE! I DON'T SHOUT AT PEOPLE!" Bakugou shouted.
Buttercup scoffed. "Says a guy who's currently shouting."
Blossom pushed Buttercup softly. "Butter- I mean, Kaoru!"
"I'm just saying, he's proving their point." she said a little too smugly.
Bakugou turned to look at Buttercup, seething.
"That's rich coming from the girl whose only PERSONALITY is shouting!" he accused.
Buttercup's eyes widened in rage as she stood up. "OH I KNOW YOU'RE NOT TALKING!"
As the class watched them, some of them were saying, "FIGHT! FIGHT!" while Blossom sighed in disappointment and Bubbles looked panicked. But before the two could get into a full on brawl on the bus, that was when Aizawa had finally turned to face the class, face calm but eyes filled with barely contained fury.
"Is there a problem, Kaoru and Bakugou? Because if there is, I'd be more than happy to handle it." Aizawa snapped.
Bakugou and Buttercup looked at Aizawa then at each other. Although the two were hotheads, they still knew better than to mess with a teacher like Aizawa. So even though they threw daggered glares at each other, they both sat down and mumbled, "No sir."
Other than that incident, nothing interesting happened until the bus reached its destination. As the class came out of the bus, they then followed their teacher into the dome-shaped building. Once they were inside, the class got to see what exactly was in store for them inside the USJ. And judging from everyone's awestruck expressions, USJ did not disappoint.
The inside of the USJ was a combination of different simulated terrains– there was a water based area, an area with burning buildings, and a rocky and dusty area, to name a few. The whole place was massive, way bigger than the outside of the USJ let on. And it was all for Class 1-A today.
As the girls looked around, Buttercup was freaking out. "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY."
"This is amazing! EEE! I feel like I'm in an amusement park!" Bubbles exclaimed as she hopped up and down.
"We might as well be!" Blossom noted, clearly impressed as she looked around, "Truly a marvel, I must say."
As Class 1-A fawned over the USJ though, one person finally caught their attention.
"I see our visitors have finally arrived!" a perky voice declared.
The voice belonged to what looked like a Hero decked out in an astronaut-esque outfit. And as soon as Blossom laid her eyes on her, her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.
"That's THIRTEEN!" she sputtered.
"Who now?" Bubbles and Buttercup asked in unison.
"Thirteen! She's a Pro Hero, and the best Rescue Hero there is! Her Quirk is called Black Hole, which allows her to create a destructive vacuum that can destroy almost anything! AHH, SHE'S AMAZING, I HAVE TO GET HER AUTOGRAPH!" Blossom squealed.
Buttercup raised an eyebrow. "I think we need to get you off of your HeroWiki binges if you know all of this stuff."
Before the girls could talk more, Thirteen spoke again to the class, who started to quiet down.
"Hi there! Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! Now, some of you may know me, but for those who don't, I'm Thirteen, the Black Hole Hero. I'm excited to be working with you today!"
After she said that, Class 1-A clapped (Blossom clapped a little too enthusiastically).
"Let me start this introduction off by saying what exactly the USJ's meant for. You see, this whole place has vastly different areas, providing various situations that Heroes might find themselves in when doing their job. These simulations are meant to train you in not the field of fighting, but rescue! In my mind, being a Pro Hero doesn't mean you get to beat up villains or chase after popularity all day. It's about being a person that's needed, a symbol that everyone looks up to. People need Heroes all around the world. And while you're not at a point where you have the ability to travel the world, it's best that you prepare for that occasion. Why? Because it's important to be someone people can depend on!
"And when I say Heroes, I mean everyone. Even those who have 'not-so special' Quirks. I personally don't care for flashy and dangerous Quirks, simply because Quirks that can help and rescue mean and matter much more. So, keep this in mind when I say this. Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. When we're done with all of this, I hope that you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people."
Once she finished, Thirteen received a loud and passionate applause from Class 1-A. As the girls clapped, they took in the advice with wonder. Rescue definitely wasn't something new for them to learn. But, they did see it in a new light. Before, they haven't really thought of Hero work that way. Sure, their priority is to save people. But for so long, they believed that simply chasing away the bad guy would do the trick. As the girls grew, they seemed to have lost sight of what true rescuing was all about. And Thirteen's speech more than reminded them of that.
Perhaps this is what going to UA was all about. Seeing things in a new way.
But, the retrospective and happy moment ended quickly. Suddenly, a blast of purple energy appeared on the battlefield down below, prompting everyone to look that way. It was a small thing that rapidly expanded, shrouding a good part of the barren ground in purple smoke.
The scariest thing about the whole thing wasn't the purple fog. In fact, the scariest thing was the event in which numerous distorted figures emerged from it.
Immediately, everyone's confusion turned into worry and fear as they stepped back. The girls stepped back too, looking at the figures with bewilderment. They clearly didn't look friendly– some looked cruel, some looked malicious, and nearly all of them looked downright barbaric.
The scariest of them emerged last. One of them was a man with light blue hair and strange and eerily lifelike hands swarming his body and face. The other one looked unrecognizable, since they wore a long coat with the hood covering their weirdly big head. Once they left the fog, the fog seemed to contract, shapeshifting into what looked like a ghostly version of a person.
Instantly, everyone knew who these new visitors were. Villains.
Down on the main grounds, the blue one peered at the group of terrified students and shocked teachers, looking for someone. But after looking for a few seconds, he frowned.
"Kurogiri…" he said in a harsh and raspy voice, "Where's ALL MIGHT?!"
The black fog's yellow eyes darted up to look at what the man with blue hair was previously looking at. Then, he slowly frowned.
"He doesn't seem to be here, Tomura." he answered
The man, or Tomura as Kurogiri called him, flared. "Dammit! Why?!"
"I do not know. The UA curriculum plan did say that he would be here with the students." Kurogiri replied.
As they listened in on the conversation from the top of the front steps, Aizawa realized something.
"They were the ones who broke into UA." he whispered.
Once they heard that, the class freaked out, including the girls.
"BROKE IN?!"
"They stalked us here!"
"Oh man, I'm SCARED!"
The girls looked distressed and confused. When have the villains ever broken into UA? But then, they remembered yesterday. That day, there was commotion going on because of a few nosy reporters accidentally tipping off the security system. The pandemonium of panicked students was a perfect distraction for someone if they wanted to slip into UA undetected. Maybe that was how the villains were able to get their hands on the Class 1-A lesson plan.
This was bad. Very bad. What do villains want with them? It seems to be All Might, as they talked about why he wasn't here. At that moment, nearly everyone was glad that All Might had decided to hold off going on the field trip at the last minute to do something. That is, until Tomura spoke again.
"Well then, if that bastard isn't here, we need to draw him out. A few dead kids here and there will do the trick." he mused rather casually.
After they registered that, all of Class 1-A panicked.
"They're gonna KILL US?!" Bubbles screamed.
"Oh HELL no. I'm not going down by the hands of good-for-nothing villains!" Buttercup growled in indignation.
Blossom nodded in agreement with Buttercup, her eyes sparkling with barely contained fury. Just then, Aizawa said something that shocked the class.
"Thirteen. I need you to evacuate the students. They need to get back to UA as soon as possible." he told the Pro Hero.
Thirteen looked uneasy and on edge. "But, what about you?"
"I'll hold off the villains, and make sure that they don't get close." Aizawa replied.
At those words, Class 1-A looked at their teacher with shock and panic.
"You can't do that!" Bubbles exclaimed, "It's you against hundreds of them!"
"Miyako's right! You can get hurt, and the odds of battle aren't in your favor!" Izuku added.
Aizawa looked at the class, his eyes sympathetic yet determined.
"Don't worry about me. I can handle them. Worry about yourselves, and getting back to UA. I'll follow when these guys are taken care of."
Before the class could protest, Aizawa took off, zooming down the stairs and into the central plaza.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Bubbles gasped.
As she said that, she tried to go after him. But, Blossom quickly held her back.
"He's right, Bubbles," she mumbled to her panicked sister, "He's a Pro Hero. He can take care of this."
While the thought didn't completely placate Bubbles, she did step back, ditching her plan to jump in after him.
"I hope that's true." she whispered, wide-eyed with worry.
But, as Aizawa took on the villains, it looked like that was true. Villains fell and wiped out left and right, as Aizawa fought each one that came at him while canceling out their dangerous Quirks before they could do damage. After a few seconds, Thirteen finally rounded up the class and pushed them towards the exit.
"Come on, guys. Leave safely and carefully to the exit-"
Suddenly, she was cut short by a deafening whoosh that caused everyone to cover their ears. In front of them, a purple dot of dark energy appeared in thin air, growing rapidly. The class and Thirteen stepped back fearfully, as the fog materialized into Kurogiri. And with him was the strange hooded figure, who stepped out of the fog. As Kurogiri formed into his "human" form, he narrowed his bright yellow eyes.
"Stand down, Heroes. No one's going anywhere." he said calmly yet menacingly.
Shaking with rage, Buttercup pushed to the front of the crowd, before Bubbles or Blossom could stop her.
"YOU! Who are you people? What do you want with us?!" Buttercup demanded.
As soon as she finished, the hooded person turned their head to look straight at her. Even though their face was covered in shadow, it appeared that they looked intrigued, almost eager, to see the Powerpuff standing before them.
"Simple," Kurogiri replied, "We're the League of Villains. And we're here to kill All Might."
Almost all of Class 1-A knew what the villains' motive was. But hearing Kurogiri confirm it shocked them severely. After all, knowing that there were people out there wanting to murder the Symbol of Peace and knowing that those very people were right in front of them was very frightening.
After a few passing seconds, Thirteen stood protectively in front of the class. When she spoke, her voice was filled with barely contained anger.
"You'll never get the chance. And neither will you get the chance to kill these students. My priority is to protect, so if you want them, you'll have to go through me!" Thirteen shouted.
Kurogiri and the hooded person exchanged glances. Then, instead of Kurogiri replying, the hooded person spoke.
"Do we? How amusing. While I admit you are a capable Pro Hero, that's all I'm willing to give you. We can easily handle you, along with these little kids. And we'll make sure that each and every one of you will regret ever messing with us."
As they heard the speech, the class was petrified in fear and indignation. But, at that moment, two people decided to take action.
Suddenly, Kirishima and Bakugou both tore from the crowd, aiming attacks at Kurogiri, who was the most exposed. But Kurogiri easily forced them back with a wave of fog. As they landed on the ground on their feet, Kurogiri seemed to grow in size, looming over the terrified class.
But as he doubled his size, Blossom noticed that both him and the hooded figure (who was looking at Kirishima and Bakugou) were distracted. That was why she tore from the crowd as well. In a blur of pink, Blossom flew over her classmates and stopped right in front of Kurogiri. Quickly, she inhaled a bunch of air then exhaled, blasting her icy mist all over Kurogiri. Soon, he was trapped in a large block of ice.
As Blossom floated in the air, she saw the hooded figure turn to look at her. Then, he uttered a word that only the two of them could hear.
"Blossom…"
Immediately after she registered the word, Blossom stilled, wide-eyed. Thousands of thoughts rushed through her head, until she found herself thinking one terrifying thought.
He knows who I am….
Before Blossom could react however, there was a large BOOM, and ice suddenly went flying everywhere. As panicked students took cover, Blossom turned to see that Kurogiri had busted free of his ice prison, and was now growing to an incredibly large size. Dark purple fog overtook her and the class. Once it did, Blossom could feel herself being shot back unbelievably fast, and she tumbled blindly into the darkness.
As quickly as the darkness came over Blossom, it disappeared around her, revealing open sky. Down below her were a bunch of debris from broken buildings and structures. With a start, Blossom realized that she was now in the Ruins Zone, one of the simulated landscapes in the USJ.
Sadly, that was all Blossom could think of before she started free-falling.
The air quickly turned into a ferocious wind as she fell, tossing around her hair, bow, and costume. As Blossom fell though, something caught her eye. A girl in blue and a girl in green, falling through the air while unconscious. Once she laid her eyes on them, memories from the past 10 minutes hit her like a tidal wave.
Villains… kill All Might… kill us… Blossom.
In a blink of an eye, Blossom stopped falling, activating her flight a few miles up from the ground. Quickly, she swooped down to her sisters, as they still fell.
"BUBBLES! BUTTERCUP! WAKE UP!" Blossom shouted urgently.
As soon as they heard her voice, Bubbles's eyes and Buttercup's eyes flew open in unison. Immediately after they did, they activated their flight and stopped falling. Blossom then slowed down, incredibly relieved.
That was close.
Slowly, Bubbles and Buttercup flew up to her, confused.
"Blossom? What's going on?" Bubbles asked.
"Yeah! What happened?" Buttercup added, glaring, "And where's that glorified smoke monster so that I can beat him up?!"
Blossom took another look around. Now that she wasn't falling, she could see her surroundings clearly. Her assumption was correct. They were still at the USJ, in the Ruins Zone. As she looked around, she replied.
"I don't know. But, I think that the smoke villain… brought us here." she said.
Bubbles and Buttercup looked bewildered. "How?"
"It appears that he has the power to teleport," Blossom explained, "Not just himself, but other people. He brought the villains over here to the USJ, and he was able to teleport from the central plaza to the exit. And when he swarmed us with smoke, I think that he teleported US away from the exit."
Bubbles and Buttercup looked at each other, then at Blossom.
"That makes sense." Buttercup replied.
"But, if that's true, then where are the others?" Bubbles asked.
Blossom narrowed her eyes as she looked at the central plaza. "That's what I'm worried about. When the smoke villain warped us, I think he scattered the class in different places. He split us up."
Buttercup and Bubbles looked in the direction of Blossom's gaze, both frowning in determination.
"Then, that means we gotta find them." Buttercup declared.
Blossom was about to agree when something caught her eye. A weird spherical projectile was flying their way. As it got close, Blossom's eyes widened as she suddenly whirled around to her sisters.
"GET DOWN!"
But it was too late. As the projectile flew in between them, an explosion was emitted from it, sending the girls flying backwards. Each of the girls were shot into nearby buildings, nearly breaking the already worn walls. It didn't take long for them to recover, and they blasted away from the building.
"What was that?!" Buttercup yelled, riled up.
"A bomb," Blossom replied, just as angry, "I bet someone threw it."
As she looked around, it didn't take long for Bubbles to find the culprit.
"You mean him?" she asked, pointing.
Blossom and Buttercup turned around to see someone standing on the roof of a barely standing building. It was the hooded figure, the one with Kurogiri. At this point, his cloak was moving around, revealing an intimidating outfit of armor. In his hands were more of the weirdly shaped bombs, and plenty of them were attached to the belt on his waist.
Before the girls could react, the person threw 3 more bombs, one towards Blossom, one towards Bubbles, and one towards Buttercup. The girls didn't waste a single word as they took action, determined to deflect the bombs.
Blossom summoned her Hyper Yoyo, and used it to grab the bomb. In one singular motion, Blossom threw the bomb towards a nearby building, and the bomb decimated that instead. Bubbles manipulated bright blue energy to create an energy-constructed bubble, and threw it at the bomb. The bubble then engulfed the bomb, so when the bomb exploded, it was contained in the small bubble that simply popped harmlessly afterwards. Buttercup simply caught the bomb with her bare hands, then turned around, flinging the bomb like a ball. The bomb was then blasted into a building, taking down the building and a couple around it with its explosion.
Once all of the bombs were neutralized, the person took off, jumping from one roof to another in an attempt to get away. But, the girls were quick, and they flew over to the person. Buttercup used her green fire to throw a fireball at the person, which he dodged easily. But when he dodged, he ended up landing on the edge of the roof, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground below.
Although he lost his balance before, the person was more than prepared for surviving falls and easily landed on his own two feet. A few feet in front of him, the Powerpuff Girls landed, clearly aggravated and battle-ready.
"You're in for a rough time, buddy! You'll regret messing with us!" Buttercup hollered as she and her sisters got into fighting positions.
The hooded person was quiet for a few seconds. But then, to the girls' surprise, he started laughing.
"Now, now girls. Don't be rude." he said between chuckles.
Simultaneously, the girls' eyes widened. Before, when the hooded person spoke to them and their class, the girls were too focused on the looming threat and their wild feelings of fear and panic. But standing right here, right now, and hearing the person's chuckles and words, the girls finally noticed something that they failed to notice before. He sounded familiar.
Slowly, the person reached his gloved hands up to his head, and grabbed the hood. And as he lowered the hood to show his face, the girls' suspicions were confirmed.
"No way…" Buttercup whispered.
"Is that…?!" Bubbles gasped.
As the person smiled a wicked grin at them and let go of his hood, Blossom finally said his name.
"Mojo Jojo…"